Studying system and method with virtual cards

ABSTRACT

The studying system and studying method using virtual card are described. The present invention comprises: (1) a course scheduling feature that divides study courses into a plurality of study sessions considering the learning situations of the user, selects and assigns virtual flash cards to such study sessions, and determines the sequence of such virtual flash cards contained in such study sessions; (2) a session management feature that carries out such study sessions by displaying the front side of the virtual flash cards contained in such study sessions and by allowing the users to enter answers to such virtual flash cards; and (3) an entry management feature that provides an interface for users to enter such answers. The present invention provides a distinct studying method by dividing a study course into a plurality of study sessions, assigning virtual flash card decks to appropriate such study sessions and determining the order of such virtual flash cards, displaying the front side of such virtual flash cards to the user, and allowing the user to enter the answer for each virtual flash card. The invention maximizes learning the benefits of users by providing and displaying virtual flash cards in the order that best suits the users&#39; situations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a computer studying system and methodusing virtual flash cards. The invention effectively enhances the user'slearning potential by automatically selecting and presenting virtualflash cards that best suit the user's studying situation.

2. Description of Related Prior Art

Many people use flash cards to study vocabulary words. In buses orsubway trains, one can often observe students studying flash cards withvocabulary words on one side of the card and the associated meaning onthe other side.

Not only vocabulary, but many other subject areas can be studied inword/definition or question/answer form. For example, to prepare for amathematics exam, one can study flash cards with mathematical problemswritten on one side of the card and associated answers on the otherside.

However, conventional flash card products have many disadvantages.Conventional flash cards products are inconvenient to carry around andare difficult to share with other people. Another drawback of usingflash cards in tradition way (i.e. repeatedly reviewing each flash cardone by one) is that it is difficult for the learner to draw or selectflash cards that would give him or her the most learning benefits forhis or her situation. The learner does not necessarily know what he orshe does not know; therefore, he or she would not know which cards wouldbe the most effective ones for him or her to review next. Also, thelearner may not review the materials sufficiently in order to achievethe desired learning outcome, or may waste time studying the materialonly to realize later that he or she knows the material well enoughalready.

Computer based flash card study systems that implement the concept offlash card studying methods have been presented in the past. Forexample, “http://quizlet.com/” is a website that allows users to studyflash cards online. The users can either study the flash cards that thewebsite displays in predetermined order or quiz themselves by enteringand reviewing their answers online. Most of these systems do notdynamically select the cards based on the users' progress, situations,and other users' learning statistics.

Also recently, a flash card application for smart-phone users has beenintroduced. Such application employs a method that displays the frontand back side of the flash cards to the users on the phone.

The majority of these flash card applications, however, utilizes amethod that simply displays a selected set of flash cards in random orsome predetermined order. These systems also do not select the best setof cards for the users based on their situations. Thus, in cases wherethe users do not have much time to study, e.g., five minutes before anexam, it is difficult for them to quickly review the necessary flashcards only.

Therefore, an advanced flash card study system that provides the userswith the material that would give them the most learning benefit duringtheir available study time is highly desirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to solve the aforementioned problem byselectively providing its users the virtual flash cards that best suitstheir studying situation (e.g., the flash card selection differsdepending on whether the exam is in five minutes or in a month).

Also, the invention seeks to maximize the user's learning benefit oroutcome by introducing a competition-based study method which allows twoor more users to simultaneously utilize the virtual flash card system.

The additional purpose of the invention is to help users achieve theircourse objectives or learning goals within their available time bycustomizing the study course and sessions to the user's learning abilityand his or her available time to study.

Furthermore, when choosing the most appropriate virtual flash cards forthe users to study based on the users' available learning time, theinvention takes into account the rate at which the users answer each ofsuch virtual flash cards correctly.

The present invention comprises three main features: (1) a coursescheduling feature that divides the study course into a plurality ofstudy sessions, selects and assigns virtual flash cards to each session,and determines the order of the said virtual flash cards; (2) a sessionmanagement feature that displays the front side of such virtual flashcards and prompts users to supply answers to the corresponding problem;and (3) an entry management feature that provides the users theinterface to enter such answers.

The course scheduling feature may consider the following factors whenassigning the virtual flash card to a particular session and determiningthe order of such virtual flash cards: (1) a rate and percentage ofcorrect answers given by the user for each of such virtual flash cards;(2) a rate and percentage of correct answers given by other users foreach of such virtual flash cards; (3) time needed for such user tocomplete each of such virtual flash cards; and (4) time needed for suchother users' to complete each of such virtual flash cards.

The course scheduling feature can further consider a changing pattern ofrates and percentages of correct answers given by the user and/or otherusers for each virtual flash card that the user and for other users haveanswered for more than once throughout the study session and for studycourse when assigning such virtual flash cards to a particular sessionand determining the order of such virtual flash cards.

The arrangement and order may differ depending on whether the changingpattern of the rates and percentages of correct answers given by theuser and/or other users for each such virtual flash card captures theincreasing, decreasing or fluctuating trends of the percentages ofcorrect answers for each such flash card. Two or more cards with thesame rate and percentage of the user answering them correctly could havedifferent trends depending on the order of which the user answered eachsuch flash card correctly. When calculating the possibility of the usercorrectly answering such virtual flash cards, the invention may takeinto the account the learning progress of the user and that of otherusers.

The present invention further comprises the following features: (1) aflash card deck database that stores the arranged virtual flash carddeck; (2) a performance reviewer that analyzes the user's performancefor each session; (3) a statistic analyzer that quantifies such user'sperformance and that of other users; and (4) an authoring mode managerthat allows the user to create his or her own virtual flash card deck.

Additionally, the invention comprises: (1) a client management featurethat saves the virtual flash card decks shared by the users in the samecourse or class; (2) a class server that saves learning progressstatistics of each user and that of the class members for each sessionand for the entire course; (3) a client training feature that processessuch quantified performance with the client management feature; and (4)a central server superior to the class server.

Also, the session management feature supports a group study mode. Ingroup study mode, the front side of the virtual flash card is displayedsimultaneously to two or more users. The mode then provides the backside of such virtual flash card along with the answers that these usershave entered.

In summary, the present invention provides a distinct studying method bydividing a study course into a plurality of study sessions, assigningvirtual flash card decks to appropriate such study sessions anddetermining the order of such virtual flash cards, displaying the frontside of such virtual flash cards to the user, and allowing the user toenter the answer for each virtual flash card.

In assigning the virtual flash card to a particular study session anddetermining the order of the said virtual flash cards, the followingfactors are considered: (1) the rate and percentage of correct answersgiven by the user for each of such virtual flash cards; (2) the rate andpercentage of correct answers given by other users for each of suchvirtual flash cards; (3) time needed for such user to complete each ofsuch virtual flash cards; and (4) time needed for such other users' tocomplete each of such virtual flash cards.

The changing pattern of the rates and percentages of correct answersgiven by the user and/or other users for each virtual flash card thatthe user and/or other users have answered for more than once is alsoconsidered in assigning virtual flash cards to a particular studysession and determining the order of the virtual flash cards. Forexample, one user could have answered the material correctly for thefirst few times; however, as the user learns other materials as well theuser may forget the previously learned material or confuse the oldmaterial with the new material. Therefore, as the system gathers thelearning statistics of all users who use the system, the system candetect particular orders of the cards that negatively impact the user'srecollection of previously learned materials, or negatively impactfuture learning materials, and avoid such ordering of the cards. Theinvention takes into account such ordering effects when selecting thecards based on the learners' progress, goals, and the available timeleft for studying.

Such studying method using virtual flash cards may provide a group studymode to users. In group study mode, the front side of the virtual flashcard is displayed simultaneously to two or more users. The mode thendisplays the back side of such virtual flash card along with the answersthat these users have entered.

The present invention effectively aids the users in achieving theirstudy goals by selectively providing its users with virtual flash cardsthat best suits their studying situations (e.g., the virtual flash cardselection differs depending on whether the exam is in five minutes or ina month).

The present invention also maximizes users' learning benefit byimplementing a competition-based study method that allows two or moreusers to utilize the virtual flash card system simultaneously.

The invention also helps the users achieve their course objectiveswithin their available time by scheduling the course work in accordancewith the user's learning ability which is measured by his or herlearning progress and statistics and his or her available time to study.

Finally, the invention effectively selects and provides virtual flashcards suitable to the user's studying condition by considering thechange in rates and percentages of correct answers given by the user andhis or her learning statistics and patterns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is one embodiment of a block diagram of a studying system usingvirtual cards.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of the client trainingfeature in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of session training inFIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary screen display of the main menu.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary screen display of the authoring mode.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary screen display of the save function on theauthoring mode screen as shown on FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary screen display of the training mode.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary screen display of the back side of the virtualflash card in training mode.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the screen that appears at the end of asession.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the objective (goal) setting screenfor a studying subject.

FIG. 11 is another exemplary screen display of the training mode.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary screen display of the group study mode.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary display of the group study mode after both usersentered the answer.

FIG. 14 illustrates other exemplary screen display of the training mode.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary screen display of the GMAT training course.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the GMAT course objective (goal)setting screen.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of the mode selection screen aftercustomization of GMAT course objective (goal).

FIG. 18 is an exemplary screen display of the learning mode in GMATcourse.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of the course objective (goal) settingscreen.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of the answer display screen.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary screen display of the authoring mode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe drawings, which are provided as illustrative examples so as toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. The forms andproportions of the drawings may have been magnified in order to betteraid with understanding. Those portions that are necessary for anunderstanding of the present invention will be described, anddescriptions of other unnecessary portions will be omitted so as not toobscure the invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detailwith reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is one embodiment of a block diagram of a studying system usingvirtual cards.

The present invention comprises a client training feature 150, a clientmanagement feature 100, a class server 120, and a central server 130.

FIG. 1 provides an overview of a studying system using virtual cardactivated in classroom setting.

The client training feature 150 interacts with the users. The primaryfunction of the client training feature 150 is to help users studyvirtual cards.

Virtual cards are not physical cards with actual sides or surfaces butare computer based cards. The computer based virtual cards can beutilized as flash cards by reproducing the design of the actual flashcards.

The front and back side of a virtual flash card may be comprised oftext, one or more images, or multimedia data types.

The front side of a virtual flash card may bear a question and the backside may comprise a corresponding answer.

For example, if the front side of a virtual flash card displays avocabulary word, the back side of such virtual flash card can displaythe corresponding meaning.

On the other hand, if the front side of a virtual flash card displays amathematical problem, the back side of such virtual flash card candisplay the corresponding solution.

In certain cases, a virtual flash card may also include a hintassociated with the content on the front and back side of the virtualflash card.

The client training feature 150 comprises a session management feature160, a flash card deck database 152, a statistic analyzer 154, a coursescheduling feature 158, a performance reviewer 162, an entry managementfeature 164, and an authoring mode manager 156.

The session management feature 160 administers the study sessions ofstudent users. During the study sessions, the client training feature150 displays series of virtual flash cards from the correspondingvirtual flash card deck.

The studying method utilizing virtual flash card is administered throughstudy courses. Study courses comprise a plurality of study sessions andvirtual flash card decks associated with the course topic.

The study sessions can be determined accordingly to the user's studyobjectives and the user's available time to study. For example, if theuser's study objective is to master SAT Verbal course within threemonths and if the user is available to study once a week, the systemwill sort corresponding virtual flash cards into twelve groups andcustomize study sessions for each of such groups.

The study sessions can be customized differently depending on the user'sprogression throughout the course. For example, after each study sessionis completed, the system analyzes the user's progress to arrange orrearrange the next study session. The amount of material to be masteredin the subsequent sessions may increase or decrease depending on howclose the user is from achieving his or her study objective.

Before a particular study session starts, the system can suggest sessiongoals to the user depending on the user's studying situation.

For example, the course objective and the session goal could be “90% onSAT Verbal” and “memorizing 20 vocabulary words per day,” respectively.The course objective is determined by the user whereas the session goalmay either be customized by the user or the user may choose from thesession goals that the system recommends to him or her.

In certain situations, e.g., five minutes before an exam, a studysession containing virtual flash cards that the user is already familiarwith is more appropriate for the user to review than a study sessioncontaining virtual flash cards that are new to the user or would takehim or her longer than five minutes to learn.

In such cases, the user can customize his or her session goal as“five-minute review before the examination,” and the system may considerthe following factors to select virtual flash cards for review: (1) therate and percentage of correct answers given by the user for each ofsuch virtual flash cards; (2) the rate and percentage of correct answersgiven by other users for each of such virtual flash cards; (3) timeneeded for such user to complete each of such virtual flash cards; (4)time needed for such other users to complete each of such virtual flashcards; and (5) the changing pattern of the rates and percentages ofcorrect answers provided by the user and/or other users for each suchvirtual flash card when the user and/or other users answered eachvirtual flash card for more than once throughout the study sessionand/or the study course.

When calculating the percentage of correct answers provided by the userfor each of such virtual flash cards, the system considers if the userhas reviewed or answered the virtual flash card. If a virtual flash cardwas never reviewed or answered by the user, the system automaticallysets the value of such virtual flash card with a predetermined defaultvalue. The predetermined value may be 0%, 100%, or other values.

For instance, in the case of five minutes before an exam, it is moreefficient for the user to review the problems that he or she answeredcorrectly 70-80% of the time than to review the problems that the useralmost never answered correctly or almost always answered correctly. Itwould also be meaningless for the user to review a problem that normallytook him or her more than five minutes to answer. Thus, in such cases,the system may select the virtual flash cards the user normally answeredwithin 30 seconds and answered correctly 70-80% of the time.Furthermore, it may be more beneficial for the user to review the flashcards that the user answered correctly 4 out of 5 times, rather than 40out of 50 times. Hence the invention not only measures the percentagesof the correct answers for each flash card, but also the rates of thecorrect answers by keeping track of the number of times each flash cardwas presented to the user.

The study sessions may contain different virtual flash card decksdepending on the users' studying situations. Since each user'sinformation (i.e., the rate and percentage of correct answers providedand time took to answer the problem) is registered in each virtual flashcard, different virtual flash cards may be provided to different userseven if they are registered for the same study course and share samestudy objectives.

The user is prompted to enter an answer for each virtual flash card.When a user submits an answer, the system can either automatically checkif the submitted answer is correct or allow the user to manually checkhis or her answer.

When running an automatic check, the system scores the answers bycomparing the user's entry to the answer in the system's database. Ifthe entry is in form of text or image, the system utilizes characterrecognition techniques to translate the entry. If the translated entrymatches the answer in the database, the system scores the entry as acorrect answer.

If the user wishes to manually check and score his or her answer, thesystem can display the back side of the virtual flash card so the usercan compare his or her answer to the answer provided by the system.

The invention's study system keeps track of the user's (student)performance, his or her objectives, time constraints and otherinformation including those of other users.

The information above are saved in the statistic analyzer 154.

The “study course” comprises the virtual flash card decks, users' studygoals or objectives, time constraints, and performance statistics.

In essence, a “study course” comprises a collection of virtual flashcards assembled for a specific study goal (e.g., 95% proficiency in 8thgrade math) and a particular virtual flash card deck may be assigned toa plurality of study sessions and/or courses.

“Time constraint” is the time it takes the user to master a study course(e.g., two weeks).

The user's progress or performance can be interpreted as “proficiency.”Here, “proficiency” is the percentage of correct answers provided by theuser for every virtual flash cards contained in a study course. Thevalue of the user's progress is calculated by taking the number of flashcards answered correctly by the user above a certain percentage, dividedby the total number of flash cards assigned to achieve the studyobjective, multiplied by one hundred (100). The percentage of correctanswers for virtual flash cards reviewed less than a certain number oftimes can be set as zero (0) depending on the learning situation.

The value of the user's progress and the virtual flash card decksassociated with study courses are saved in the local disk by thestatistic analyzer 154 and/or the virtual flash card deck database 152.

The course scheduling feature 158 divides a study course into aplurality of study sessions and assigns the study sessions accordinglyto the user's progress or availability. The course scheduling feature158 further assigns the virtual flash cards to specific study sessionsand the order of virtual flash cards being displayed.

The course scheduling feature 158 schedules the study course accordinglyto the user's progress and the change in user's availability.

For example, in certain cases such as five minutes before the exam, thecourse scheduling feature 158 can consider the above factors whendetermining the order of the virtual flash cards.

When the user has a limited amount of time to review the materials, itwould be beneficial for the user to review the material that wouldmaximize his or her learning benefits by considering the changingpattern of the rates and percentages of correct answers given by theuser and/or other users for each virtual flash card, and timeconstraints when determining which virtual flash cards to review duringthe remaining time.

In a situation where the user has five minutes left to review for anexam, it would be unsuitable for the user to review a problem he or shenever answered correctly or a problem that normally took the user anhour to answer. The more useful studying method in this situation couldbe reviewing the virtual flash cards with the most recent answering ratebeing near 70% or more; and to review the cards with the shorter timeneeded to answer before reviewing the ones that require longer amount oftime, as to maximize the amount of the reviewed material before theexam.

Thus, the course scheduling feature 158 considers the following factorswhen assigning the virtual flash card to a particular session anddetermining the order of virtual flash cards: (1) the rate andpercentage of correct answers given by the user for each of such virtualflash cards; (2) the rate and percentage of correct answers given byother users for each of such virtual flash cards; (3) time needed forsuch user to complete each of such virtual flash cards; (4) time neededfor such other users' to complete each of such virtual flash cards; and(5) the changing pattern of the rates and percentages of correct answersprovided by the user and/or other users for each such virtual flash cardwhen the user and for other users have answered each such virtual flashcard for more than once throughout the study session and/or the studycourse.

The course scheduling feature 158 may receive information such as otherusers' progress, rate and percentage of correct answers for each suchvirtual flash card, and changing pattern of the rates and percentages ofcorrect answers for each such virtual flash card through the classserver 120 and the central server 130, and schedule the courseaccordingly. In other words, the feature not only considers the user'sprogress, rate and percentage of correct answers, and changing patternof the rates and percentages of correct answers, but also other users'progress, percentage of correct answers, and changing pattern of thepercentages of correct answers to produce optimal results. Here, thefeature may consider only the information of the users in same grade orlevel as such user.

For example, the system may display the virtual flash cards with thegreatest disparity in such user's and other users' rate and percentageof answering correctly. The system may also display the virtual flashcards other users reviewed the most.

If the system does not have enough information on such user yet, thecourse scheduling feature 158 may determine the order of the virtualflash cards by utilizing the information of other users in the same orsimilar grade or level as such user.

As described above, the course scheduling feature 158 can utilize otherusers' learning statistics to schedule such user's study session andselect the virtual flash cards.

In certain embodiments, the course scheduling feature 158 may notnecessarily consider the user's availability.

In certain embodiments, the course scheduling feature 158 may provide anestimated time to complete a course to achieve the learning goal of theuser. The estimated time to complete may differ depending on the user'sproficiency, studying situation, and etc., and it may be dynamicallyre-calculated based on the user's progress. By providing the estimatedtime to complete, the feature allows the user to practice answering aproblem within a certain time range.

The course scheduling feature 158 may consider the user's situation whenselecting and determining the order of virtual flash cards in aparticular study session.

Because the user's information is registered for each virtual flash card(such as proficiency and estimated time required to answer the problem),the selection and order of virtual flash cards may differ depending onthe user even if the study course and objectives are identical among theusers.

The selection and order of virtual flash cards may also differ dependingon how the changing pattern of the rates and percentages of correctanswers given by the user and/or other users for each of such virtualflash cards is. The changing pattern of the rates and percentages maycapture one of the increasing, decreasing or fluctuating trends of thepercentages of correct answers for each virtual flash card. For example,in the case of five minutes before examination, among virtual flashcards with the percentage range of correct answers from 60% to 70%, avirtual flash card having a decreasing trend of the percentages ofcorrect answers may be displayed earlier than a flash card having anincreasing trend of the percentages of correct answers.

In cases where the rates and percentages of correct answers provided bythe user for virtual flash cards are equal, the selection and order ofsuch virtual flash cards may be determined based on whether the changingpattern of the rates and percentages of correct answers given by theuser and/or other users for each of such virtual flash cards capturesthe increasing trend of the percentages of correct answers, thedecreasing trend of the percentages or the fluctuating trend of thepercentages. For an example, there may be two flash cards where thechanging pattern of the rates and percentages of correct answers by oneuser differs but the rate and percentage of correct answers is the same.This may occur where, in the case of answering two flash cards for fourtimes throughout a study session and/or a study course, the useranswered one virtual flash card incorrectly the first time and correctlythe last three times and answered another virtual flash card correctlythe first three times and incorrectly the last time. So far, both flashcards have the correctly answered rate of 75% for the user. However, theformer card is in an increasing trend of the rates and percentages ofcorrect answers, while the latter card is in a decreasing trend of therates and percentages of correct answers. Such phenomena could be causedin a certain case where, as time passes by, the user may forget thelearned material, or newly learned materials may negatively impact theusers' the retrieval of the previously learned material. In this case,the selection and order of such two cards are determined depending onthe goal of the study session and the course, and the learningsituations of the user.

The performance reviewer 162 calculates the progress of the study courseor session and presents the calculated result to the user in differentways.

Such calculated progress is analyzed and saved by the statistic analyzer154.

The authoring mode manager 156 allows the user to create his or her ownvirtual flash card decks.

In other words, the user can: (1) create new cards; (2) modify existingcards; (3) delete a card; (4) merge card decks; (5) organize or labelthe cards and decks; and (5) import and export flash cards from theclass server 120 and the central server 130.

The client training feature 150 can receive and perform the user's entrythrough the entry management feature 164.

The entry management feature 164 may receive the user's entry through akeyboard, computer mouse, touch pad, tablet pen, or stylus pen (touchpen).

The entry management feature 164 can run at all times regardless ofwhether the system is in authoring mode or training mode.

The client management feature 100 comprises an authoring mode manager102 and a performance reviewer 104. The client management feature 100controls the class server 120.

The class server 120 saves the common virtual flash card decks, simplifythe distribution of virtual flash card decks, gather information onusers' progress, and help users utilize the studying system.

The client management feature 100 is a feature created for users who areteachers and exam proctors. The client management feature 100, throughthe authoring mode manager 102, allows such users to edit the virtualflash card decks saved in the class server.

The authoring mode manager 102 is similar to the authoring mode manager156 of the client training feature 150, but unlike the authoring modemanager 156, the authoring mode manager 102 does not administer thelocal deck which is a set of flash cards that are being used in thecurrent study session which is a subset of the entire flash card decksin the current study course selected by an user.

In certain embodiments, the authoring mode manager 102 may provide thename of the user who created or edited a particular virtual flash card.

The performance reviewer 104 provides teachers and exam proctors withprogress reports of students in various formats who attend the class inthe class server 120.

The client management feature 100 also includes a function that allowsthe teachers and exam proctors to transfer study course information andvirtual flash card deck information to the client training feature 150.

Although not illustrated on FIG. 1, like the entry management feature164, the client management feature 100 can include devices that allowusers to submit entries.

The client management feature 100 and the client training feature 150illustrated in FIG. 1 can serve different modes in the system component.In certain embodiments, the components of the client management feature100 and the client training feature 150 may be different.

The central server 130 is shared through the client management feature100 and the client training feature 150. The information saved in thecentral server 130 includes virtual flash card decks, the study courseinformation associated with such virtual flash card decks, and progressreports. The client training feature 150 can either directly select andutilize the virtual flash card decks saved in the central server 130 orutilize the virtual flash card decks recommended by the clientmanagement feature 100.

The client management feature 100 can copy and paste the virtual flashcard decks saved in the central server 130 to the class server 120. Theclass server 120 can edit such virtual flash card decks. The proficiencyinformation saved in the central server 130 can be utilized by thecourse scheduling feature 158 which is included in the client trainingfeature 150.

In certain embodiments, the central server 130 may not exist.

In certain embodiments, the central server 130 may save information onvirtual flash card decks only. In such cases, the virtual flash carddecks are retrieved from the central server 130. However, the coursescheduling feature 158 will not consider other users' proficiencyinformation unless other users are included in the same study course asthe user and their proficiency information is saved in the class server120.

In certain embodiments, class server 120 and client management feature100 may not be installed in the system. In such cases, the system may ormay not include the central server 130.

In certain embodiments, the client training feature 150 may not includea local disk. In such cases, the virtual flash card decks may be savedin the class server 120 and/or in the central server 130. Theproficiency information and progress report may or may not be saved inthe class server 120 or the central server 130.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of the client trainingfeature 150 in FIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, upon starting, the client training feature 150displays the main menu S202 which prompts the user to select either thetraining mode or the authoring mode.

The user may select the training mode to study a new or existing studycourse, or the user may select the authoring mode to create/edit thevirtual flash cards.

If the user selects the training mode, the client training feature willdecide if the user will start a new study course S204 or continuestudying an existing study course.

If the user decides to continue studying an existing study course, theclient training feature allows the user to select the course to studyS206.

If the user decides to start the new study course S204, the clienttraining feature allows the user to select a virtual flash card deckS208 and customize his or her course objective S210.

The client training feature then allows the user to customize his or hergoals for the session S212, and performs the session training S160.

When session training is completed, a progress report S162 is providedto the user by the performance reviewer 162.

If the user selects the authoring mode, the client training featureexecutes the authoring mode and performs all corresponding functionssuch as creating, editing and deleting virtual flash cards 5156.

Upon completion of training or authoring mode, the client trainingfeature displays an exit screen S220. If the user selects exit, theclient training feature terminates the system. If the user does notselect exit, the client training feature displays the main menu S202.

In certain embodiments, the client training feature can execute thelearning mode to allow the user to learn the virtual flash card beforestarting a study session. In the learning mode, the front and back sideof the virtual flash card is displayed to the user and the user may nothave to enter the answer.

In certain embodiments, for the purpose of sorting out problematicvirtual flash cards, the learning mode may track the time it takes theuser to answer a virtual flash card and the frequency of such virtualflash card being displayed.

In certain embodiments, the client training feature may provide the usera full or partial progress report upon completion of each study session.

In certain embodiments, the client management feature 100 may create astudy course corresponding to a predetermined course objective withouthaving the client training feature or the user select the virtual flashcard decks and course objectives or learning goals. Such study coursemay then use a default goal setting and be provided to the clienttraining feature.

In certain embodiments, the central server 130 may provide the studycourse with the associated virtual flash card decks.

During session training S160, the user can enter his or her answerutilizing a stylus pen, tablet, keyboard, etc.

Also, in an authoring mode S156, the user can manually merge virtualflash card decks. Manual merge occurs when the user selects to merge twodifferent virtual flash card decks. The new card deck that is producedby this process consists of all virtual flash cards that were includedin such two virtual flash card decks. The client training feature canidentify repeating virtual flash cards and delete them. However, theclient training feature may not be able to automatically identify anddelete all repeating flash cards. In such cases, the user can manuallydelete the repeating cards in authoring mode and training mode.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the process of session training inFIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, as the session training starts, the virtual flashcard decks and progress report that corresponds to the study course isloaded from the local disk S322.

Also, the course scheduling feature, which is included in the clienttraining feature, selects the virtual flash cards from the virtual flashcard deck S302.

Here, the course scheduling feature may consider the user's progressstatistics, the time required to answer a virtual flash card, and timeconstraints.

For example, if the exam is in five minutes, the most effective virtualflash card to study would be the one that: (1) does not take long forthe user to answer; (2) the user continues to improve from a certainrange of time; and (3) the rate and percentage of correct answers givenby the user for such virtual flash card is within a certain range.

When a virtual flash card is selected, the front side of the virtualflash card is displayed S304.

The user can conclude a virtual flash card as a repeated card beforeletting the system display the next virtual flash card or exiting thesession.

Thus, the user can identify repeating virtual flash cards during studysessions S306.

The system may also automatically identify repeating virtual flash cardswith its character recognition technique or pattern matching technique.

If determined as a duplicate card, the virtual flash card is deletedfrom the virtual flash card deck S308 and another virtual flash card isselected to display S302.

If the virtual flash card cannot be concluded as a repeated card, thestudy session will wait until the user completes the answer or until thetime limit to complete the answer expires S312.

In other words, the study session either waits until the user enters ananswer or moves to the next step if the user does not enter an answerwithin the given time.

In certain embodiments, hint may be provided upon the user's request.Here, the hint may be in the form of text, image, video, sound, orcontent entered in the system's authoring mode.

If a hint is provided, the client training feature tracks the virtualflash cards that provided the hint, and this information is laterutilized by the course scheduling feature to determine the selection andorder of virtual flash cards.

The client training feature also monitors and saves information on thetime it took the user to complete an answer. This information is laterutilized by the course scheduling feature to determine the selection andorder of virtual flash cards.

The user may skip a displayed virtual flash card during a study session.The user can also remove a virtual flash card from a study session byskipping such virtual flash card. Thus, the user can check the back sideof a virtual flash card that he or she wishes to skip and move on to thenext virtual flash card.

The system can track information on virtual flash cards that wereskipped and provide the information to the user upon request.

Moreover, the user can add new virtual flash cards to the study courseor session that the user is studying. The user may create a new virtualflash card through the authoring mode and register such virtual flashcard to the associated study course or session.

The user can also exclude a virtual flash card from a study course orsession. For example, if a virtual flash card is displayed during astudy session and the user determines that such virtual flash card isirrelevant to the examination he or she is preparing for, the user cancompletely exclude such virtual flash card from the session.

If either the user submits an answer or the given time limit to answerthe problem is reached, the back side of the virtual flash card isdisplayed S314.

The user can score his or her answer manually after comparing his or heranswer with the answer on the back side of the virtual flash card.

The system determines whether the user scored the answer S316.

If the user did not enter his or her score, the system waits until thescore is entered or until the time given to enter the score expires.

If the user entered his or her score, the system provides thisinformation to the course scheduling feature.

The steps in S316 are eliminated if the system automatically scores theanswer. If the system can automatically score the user's answer, eitherthe steps in S314 is eliminated or the back side of more than onevirtual flash card can be displayed.

The system determines whether to terminate the study session after eachanswer is scored S318.

If the study session is not terminated, the system continues to stepS302 and selects the next virtual flash card.

If the study session is terminated, the training session halts furtherperformance.

The virtual flash cards can be displayed multiple times during the studysession depending on the user's progress. For example, if the sessiongoal is not achieved after displaying all virtual flash cards and thereis still time left to complete the session, virtual flash cards that canbe answered within the leftover time can be selected and displayedrepeatedly.

An updated progress report can be provided to the user upon completionof each study session.

The user entry (input) device includes, but is not limited to styluspen, keyboard, computer mouse, or other devices to enter the answer of avirtual flash card.

In certain embodiments, the steps S306 and S308 may be eliminated if themerger and/or manual merge function is not supported by the system.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary screen display of the main menu.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, upon starting the virtual flash card system,the client training feature displays the main menu. The main menuincludes authoring mode menu 140 and the training mode menu 420.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the user can log-in by typing his or her ID440 and password 450 at the main menu.

The authoring mode menu 410 allows the user to create his or her ownvirtual flash card and the training mode menu 420 allows the user tostart the studying system using virtual flash cards.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary screen display of the authoring mode.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the virtual flash cards are composed of frontsides 510 and back sides 520.

If necessary, a virtual flash card may include a hint/note contentsection 530 that corresponds to the problem on the front side of thevirtual flash card.

FIG. 5 is an example of a virtual flash card created to study the twotimes multiplication table. In this example, the content on the frontside of the virtual flash card consists of problems such as “2×2”,“2×3”, and “2×4”, and the content on the back side of the virtual flashcard consists of corresponding answers such as “4”, “6”, and “8”.

The contents on the front and back side of the virtual flash card can becreated in a text form using a keyboard or in an image form using astylus pen. The contents can also be created in various forms such asvideo or sound.

In the present invention, a “virtual flash card deck” is defined as acollection of virtual flash cards included in a study course. As shownin FIG. 5, a course objective 540 may be customized for each studycourse.

The subject area of the study is provided in the form of a study courseto the users. This will be described later in the section.

The authoring mode screen includes the following functions: (1) an openfunction 550 that opens a new card deck; (2) a save function 560 thatsaves the created card decks; and (3) a share function 570 that providesthe selected card decks to other users.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary screen display of the save function on theauthoring mode screen as shown on FIG. 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, an interface screen is displayed when the savefunction is selected. The interface allows the user to customize thefile name 610, category 620, and for sharing purposes, other users whoare allowed to use the card deck 630. Upon receiving such entries(inputs), the save function can be enabled to complete the savingprocess.

File name 610 is the name of the file to be saved. Category 620 is thecategory in which the virtual flash cards are to be arranged upon beingsaved. Here, the user can select among the list of categories 620provided by the system or create a new category for the card deck.

The sharing with other users function 630 allows the user to controlwhich people can utilize the virtual flash card decks. The user mayenable all users, registered friends, only teachers, or only the userhimself or herself to access the virtual flash card decks.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary screen display of the training mode.

FIG. 7 illustrates a virtual flash card reviewing the two timesmultiplication table.

The user may enter the answer in the answer space 720 once the frontside of the virtual flash card 710 is displayed. Here, the answer may beentered in the form of text or image by utilizing the keyboard or styluspen.

The user can request hint by selecting hint 730 before answering theproblem. The user may also check the answer on the back side of thevirtual flash card by selecting answer 740 after completing the problem.

The user can also check the status of the study course or sessionthrough the progress bar 750 on the training mode screen. The trainingmode screen also provides the current user's progress 760.

A study course is divided into two or more study sessions. For instance,if the user's course objective for SAT Verbal study course is to “masterthe course in three months,” the invention may compute and organize thenumber and the duration of the study sessions necessary to achieve thecourse objective throughout the course (i.e., once a week or everyday).

FIG. 8 is an exemplary screen display of the virtual flash card intraining mode.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the back side of the virtual flash card 810appears after the user enters his or her answer. The user can thencompare his or her answer with the back side of the virtual flash card.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of the screen that appears at the end of asession.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, when a study session is completed, a screenthat provides the user's performance, points earned, and option toreview answers is displayed. Users may also view frequently missedquestions.

For instance, user's performance is calculated by dividing the number ofvirtual flash cards within a certain range of proficiency by the totalnumber of virtual flash cards selected to achieve the course objectiveand multiplying the result by one hundred (100).

The frequently missed problems or questions can be determined byconsidering the number of times the problem was answered incorrectly, orthe rate and percentage of which the user answered correctly isdecreasing. Virtual flash cards selected for review are arranged inorder of proficiency level (low to high) or number of times the useranswered the problem incorrectly (high to low). The number of virtualflash cards selected for review can be customized.

Points achieved are distributed based on the user's progress. The pointscan be used to purchase virtual flash cards that other users havecreated.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of the objective (goal) setting screenfor a studying subject.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the customized objective for the subjectmatter is “getting an A”.

Here, such objective may customize a particular virtual flash card deckor it may customize the entire study course.

For example, if the objective is set as “720 on SAT Verbal,” the systemcan automatically set the required percentage of correct answers for thecorresponding virtual flash cards so the user can achieve his or herobjective.

The system can also provide a list of objectives that the user maychoose from, and the user can select an appropriate objective from thelist provided.

FIG. 11 is an exemplary screen display of the training mode.

As shown in FIG. 11, there are two options in the training mode: (1)self-study mode 1110; and (2) group study mode 1120.

Additionally, the “my study room” feature 1130 is available in thetraining mode. The “my study room” feature 1130 displays the registeredstudy courses organized by categories.

Self-study mode 1110 allows the user to study the course alone. Groupstudy mode 1120 allows the user to study the course with other usersonline.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary screen display of the group study mode.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, in group study mode, the problem is displayedon the front side of the virtual flash card 1210 and an answer space1220 is provided for each user to enter his or her answer. Here, theother user's answer space 1230 is also displayed on the user's screen.However, the other user's answer space 1230 cannot be viewed by the userand the other user's answer is not revealed until after the usercompletes the problem.

FIG. 13 is an exemplary display of the group study mode after both usersentered the answer.

As shown in FIG. 13, the answer button 1310 is enabled once the userenters his or her answer in the answer space 1220. When the user selectsthe answer button 1310, the back side of the virtual flash card 1320 isdisplayed and the user can compare his or her answer with the answer onthe back side of the virtual flash card. The other user's answer 1230 isalso revealed so the user can also compare his or her answer with theother user's answer.

By allowing multiple users to study the course together, the studymethod described above can maximize the learning benefits of thestudying system using virtual flash cards without losing the users'interest.

FIG. 14 illustrates another exemplary screen display of the trainingmode.

As illustrated in FIG. 14, the user can select among the study coursesdisplayed on the screen.

The user can also search the study course or virtual flash card decksthat he or she would like to study.

Also, the “my study room” feature 1130 is available in the trainingmode. The “my study room” feature 1130 displays the user's registeredstudy courses organized by categories.

As shown in FIG. 14, the user in this example selected the GMAT course.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary screen display of the GMAT training course.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, GMAT verbal and math courses are each $10 for30 days. Once the user agrees to the terms of the transaction, he or shemay start the course.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of the GMAT course objective (goal)setting screen.

As shown in FIG. 16, the GMAT course objective is customized as “800 onGMAT Verbal.”

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of the mode selection screen after theuser customizes GMAT course objective (goal).

As shown in FIG. 17, learning mode 1710, training mode 1720, and checkprogress mode 1730 are displayed upon customization of the GMAT courseobjective.

In the example in FIG. 17, the user selected learning mode 1710.

FIG. 18 is an exemplary screen display of the learning mode in GMATcourse.

As illustrated in FIG. 18, the front side of the virtual flash card 1810is displayed in GMAT course learning mode. The user may also select todisplay the back side of the virtual flash card 1820 to see the answer.

Also shown in FIG. 18, the user can monitor which number of virtualflash card is being displayed 1830.

The user can complete a course relatively faster in learning mode sincethe user is not required to enter an answer.

The user can skip or go back by clicking the arrows displayed on thescreen.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of the course objective (goal) settingscreen.

As shown in FIG. 19, the user may customize the proficiency level.

Also shown in FIG. 19, the proficiency level 1910 is customized as 95%.The proficiency level can be defined differently depending on the studycourse. For example, proficiency level can be defined as the number ofvirtual flash cards required to be answered correctly. Furthermore, thedesired proficiency level can be changed for each learning session inthe course. For example for the first session, the user may want toachieve 50% of proficiency, whereas for the second session, he or shemay set the proficiency level to be 75%.

The user can also arrange the course schedule by utilizing thescheduling feature 1920.

The scheduling feature 1920 includes entry of duration 1921 and entry ofavailability 1922.

The user can enter the duration of the study course 1921. In the examplein FIG. 19, the duration is customized as two weeks.

The user can also enter his or her availability 1922 (date and time theuser is available to study).

When the user finishes arranging his or her course schedule, the usermay click “OK” 1930 and the client training feature will calculate,organize and display the course schedule. The user can also manuallyedit the provided course schedule.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of the answer display screen.

The answer display screen appears after the user completes a problem. Asillustrated in FIG. 20, the answer display screen includes the frontside display 2010, user's entry display 2020, and the back side display2030.

The front side display 2010 illustrates the front side of the virtualflash card or the problem the user needs to answer.

The user's entry display 2020 illustrates the answer that the userentered for the corresponding virtual flash card.

The back side display 2020 illustrates the back side of the virtualflash card or the answer to the problem on the front side of thecorresponding virtual flash card.

The user can manually score his or her answer by comparing his or heranswer with the answer on the back side of the virtual flash card. Theuser may click “yes” 2040 if he or she answered correctly, or “no” 2050if he or she answered incorrectly.

FIG. 20 is an example of an answer display screen that appears duringthe study session. Such answer display screen includes session progressbar 2060 which tracks the user's progress in the session.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary screen display of the authoring mode.

FIG. 21 illustrates noun deck 2110, idiom deck 2120, and sentence deck2130 under the title “English.”

The user can add, edit, copy, delete, or merge virtual flash card decks.The user can also move virtual flash card decks to certain groups.

In certain embodiments, the authoring mode can be started by theauthoring menu. The authoring menu provides the following options: (1)“new deck,” which creates new virtual flash card decks; (2) “edit deck,”which edits existing virtual flash card decks; and (3) “import/exportdeck,” which imports/exports virtual flash card decks through network.

If the user selects “new deck” or “edit deck” from the authoring menu, adeck menu is provided to the user.

The user may select the following options from the deck menu: (1) addcard; (2) edit card; (3) copy card; (4) delete card; (5) merge deck; or(6) organize deck.

The add card option allows the user to add a new virtual flash card tothe virtual flash card deck. The edit card option allows the user toedit a particular virtual flash card in a virtual flash card deck. Aftercompleting the add card option, the system can automatically execute theedit card option.

The copy card option allows the user to copy a particular virtual flashcard. The delete card option allows the user to delete a certain virtualflash card from the virtual flash card deck. The merge deck optioncreates a new virtual flash card deck by merging more than two existingvirtual flash card decks. The organize deck option arranges the order ofthe virtual flash cards. Here, the order determined by organize deckoption can be similar to the training mode's quiz type order. However,the learning mode sequence would be more beneficial in this case.

Having thus described the invention in rather full detail, it will beunderstood that such detail need not be strictly adhered to, but thatadditional changes and modifications may suggest themselves to oneskilled in the art. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are tobe regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

1. A studying system using virtual cards, comprising: a. a coursescheduling feature that: (1) divides study courses associated with aplurality of card decks, wherein each deck bears a plurality of virtualflash cards, into a plurality of study sessions; (2) selects and assignssuch virtual flash cards to such study sessions; and (3) determines theorder of such virtual flash cards contained in such study sessions; b. asession management feature that carries out such study sessions bydisplaying the front side of such virtual flash cards contained in suchstudy sessions and by allowing the users to enter answers to suchvirtual flash cards; and c. an entry management feature that provides aninterface for users to enter such answers.
 2. The study system accordingto claim 1, wherein such course scheduling feature considers thefollowings when selecting and determining the order of such virtualflash cards: a. a rate and percentage of correct answers given by theuser for each of such virtual flash cards; b. a rate and percentage ofcorrect answers given by other users for each of such virtual flashcards; c. time needed for such user to complete each of such virtualflash cards; and d. time needed for such other users' to complete eachof such virtual flash cards.
 3. The study system according to claim 2,wherein such course scheduling feature further considers a changingpattern of rates and percentages of correct answers given by either theuser or the user and other users for each such virtual flash card thateither such user or such user and other users has answered for more thanonce when assigning such virtual flash cards to such study sessions andwhen ordering the sequence of such virtual flash cards.
 4. The studysystem according to claim 3, wherein such changing pattern of such ratesand percentages of correct answers given for each such virtual flashcard captures an increasing, decreasing or fluctuating trends of suchrates and percentages of correct answers for each such virtual flashcard.
 5. The study system according to claim 4, wherein such studysystem further comprises: a. a flash card deck database that saves suchvirtual flash card decks; b. a performance reviewer that analyzes theuser's progression for such study courses and such study sessions. c. astatistic analyzer that quantifies such analyzed progression; and d. anauthoring mode manager that allows such user to create virtual flashcard decks.
 6. The study system according to claim 5, wherein such studysystem further comprises a client management feature that allowsteachers and administrators to create virtual flash card decks andmanages progression data of users registered in study courses.
 7. Thestudy system according to claim 6, wherein such study system furthercomprises: a. a class server, under the control of such clientmanagement feature, that saves common virtual flash card decks of usersregistered in study courses; and b. a central server, superior to suchclass server, that is shared by such client management feature andclient training feature.
 8. The study system according to claim 4,wherein such session management feature provides a group study mode,wherein: a. the front side of such virtual flash card is displayedsimultaneously to such user and such other users; and b. such otheruser's answer and the back side of such virtual flash card is revealedconcurrently to such user when such user enters his or her answer.
 9. Amethod of studying using virtual cards, comprising: a. dividing studycourses associated with the plurality of card decks, wherein each deckbears a plurality of virtual flash cards, into a plurality of studysessions; b. selecting and assigning such virtual flash cards to suchstudy sessions and determining the order of such virtual flash cardscontained in such study sessions; and c. carrying out such studysessions by displaying the front side of such virtual flash cardscontained in such study sessions and by allowing the users to enteranswers to such virtual flash cards.
 10. A method of claim 9, whereinassigning such virtual flash cards to such study sessions and orderingthe sequence of such virtual flash cards, the followings are considered:a. a rate and percentage of correct answers given by the user for eachof such virtual flash cards; b. a rate and percentage of correct answersgiven by other users for each of such virtual flash cards; c. timeneeded for such user to complete each of such virtual flash cards; andd. time needed for such other users to complete each of such virtualflash cards.
 11. A method of claim 10, wherein assigning such virtualflash cards to such study sessions and ordering the sequence of suchvirtual flash cards, a changing pattern of rates and percentages ofcorrect answers given by either such user or such user and other usersfor each such virtual flash card which either such user or such user andother users has answered for more than once is considered.
 12. A methodof claim 11, wherein such changing pattern of such rates and percentagesof correct answers given for each such virtual flash card captures anincreasing, decreasing or fluctuating trends of such rates andpercentages of correct answers for each such virtual flash card.
 13. Amethod of claim 12, wherein the study method provides the group studymode, wherein the front side of such virtual flash card is displayedsimultaneously to such user and such other users; and such other user'sanswer and the back side of such virtual flash card is revealedconcurrently to such user when such user enters his or her answer.